NASA has extended the deadline for its call for flight proposals on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.

On Wednesday, NASA updated the deadline to Jan. 31 for companies that are interested in submitting payloads for suborbital flight.

In 2010, NASA made an Announcement of Flight Opportunities that includes Virgin Galactic flights from Spaceport America in Las Cruces and four other companies that are also working on suborbital reusable launch vehicles.

“Human or animal experiments may be possible on some platforms,” reads the NASA AFO document. All of the submitters to the AFO must show that they are ready, that they have experience, and most importantly, can prove that the flights will have a benefit to NASA.

Last year, Virgin Galactic, the anchor tenant at the Spaceport America in Las Cruces, said it had configured its Spaceship2 to transport not just people, but payloads into orbit. The company also recently updated its Payload Users Guide last week, where it said the SpaceShipTwo can carry 1,300 pounds into suborbital space, and expose any payload to four minutes of “high-quality microgravity.”

On Wednesday, state officials also announced that Virgin Galactic will make the first-ever rent payment this month for use of Spaceport America.

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